Limited vision defense in racial bias suit

ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- New York's lieutenant governor said in a deposition that he didn't realize he had replaced a white photographer with a black one because he is legally blind.

The white photographer, Joseph Maiorello, has filed a lawsuit claiming he was terminated by Lt. Gov. David Paterson when he was state Senate minority leader because of his race. Judge Norman Mordue, in a ruling reported this week, refused to dismiss the suit, The New York Post reported.

Paterson, who is black, said in his deposition that he is blind in one eye and has limited sight in the other because of an infection when he was a baby. He denied seeking a black photographer.

"Given my visual impairment, I did not know for certain the race of either," Paterson said.

Charles O'Byrne, Paterson's chief of staff, told the Post the remark was "a Paterson quip, a joke."

Paterson's lawyers also argue that he replaced much of the staff when he became minority leader because he wanted people loyal to him. They point out that he replaced a black chief of staff with a white one.